Perspective sketching Freehand and Digital Drawing Techniques for Artists Designers by Paricio Jorge (z-lib.org)

dyNamIC VIEwS:

FINdING uNIquE aNGLES THaT SHowCaSE
ouR SubjECT wITH ExTREmE EmPHaSIS

There are times when designers have to A: Preliminary lines done when starting
search for unique points of view to show the drawing.
a particular design detail or to fully
understand how a design is put together. B: Thin lines done with a brown pencil to
In the following sketches, I analyzed an indicate the direction of the grain in
all-time favorite: the famous DCW the veneer.
(Dining Chair Wood) 1948 chair
designed by Charles and Ray Eames. A
This first sketch shows the DCW chair
from a low vantage point, to show the
intricate and clever layering of the
veneer layers and how the metal screws
secure them.

B

A
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This next sketch digs deeper into the AB
understanding of the DCW chair.
If we look from a very low point of view,
we appreciate four black rubber discs
that provide some flex in between
the seat and the backrest extension.
By creating this sketch with a very
low point of view, I was able to visually
describe the relationship between
these important parts.

A: Rubber discs.

B: Hexagonal lock-nut

By sketching from a forced angle,
sometimes we can gain a better
understanding of a complex shape.
That is the case of this leg splint,
also designed by Charles and Ray
Eames for the U.S. Navy in 1941.
The experimentation with plywood
allowed this creative couple to expand
the limit of what could be done with
this material. The sharp angle at which
this sketch is done provides some
understanding of the unique qualities
of this shape. The strong shadows
applied with a dark orange tone and
the exaggerated wood grain tones
contribute to describe the nuances
of the many concavities we find in
the splint.

100 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

This drawing done by RISD student
Anthony Peer shows another interesting
point of view for a vending machine.
The design offers a slight curvature
on all four sides and a clear body that
is capped by a red cap and bottom.
According to the front and side
orthographic views that we can see on
the top right corner, a typical point of
view of five feet and six inches (1.7 m),
would not show us this design with these
pronounced angles, but Peer chose
a lower point of view to precisely
emphasize its shape and give the overall
concept a more dynamic approach.
The rendering itself is done with red
and gray markers and black lines of
different line weights. The background
and the orthographic views are
completed in Photoshop.

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Often when rendering for the A
automotive world, designers show B
unique points of view to enhance the
perspective. That usually is obtained by C
lowering the point of view considerably, C
as if we looked at the car slightly
crouching down. That adds more drama, B
especially if we choose either the front
or the back corner, at a three-quarter
point of view. In this example, I chose
to work on a concept for a three-door
sports car with an emphasis on the
hatch door and the outline of the brake
lights. To add more movement to the
scene, I also turned the wheel to the
left, as if the car was about to enter into
a curve.

A: Light blue tones that catch the
reflection of the sky.

B: A strong shadow on the ground makes
the car belong to the scene in a more
convincing way.

C: This corner is emphasized in the
rendering.

On a second stage, I focused on A
adding more contrast to the rendering:
reflections on the windows, and blue and
brown tones to separate the reflections
coming from the sky and ground.

A: Extra dark brown tones in the middle
of the door mark the reflection of
the horizon line.

B: Brown tones added on the bottom
of the car to pick up the reflection
of the ground.

C: Extra dark tones added to the top
of the windows to show the reflection
of nearby objects.

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These automobile sketches were With so many styles in the market,
developed by RISD student Gabriel a car needs to differentiate itself from
Lopez, under the supervision of its competitors, and the designer has
professor Matthew Grigsby. When to show an angle that will define it as
working with car renderings, just like an object of desire. After all, for many
we would do for any other object, the people a car is arguably the second most
designer has to work to find unique expensive investment they’ve made,
angles that will define it well. But a car after a house. Many of these initial
carries more connotations as an object sketches have a low point of view to add
than many other manufactured goods. drama and a sense of speed. These are
part of a larger collection of sketches
developed with a particular car maker
in mind, using exclusively black pens
over marker paper.

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These color renderings are completed Note: During the phase of adding color
using black pens with some color marker tones, it is important to avoid
markers added on top, done on marker smudging our color over the black lines.
paper. Notice how the white reflections It is important to test on the side first if
on the body paint were obtained by that would actually happen, but the results
simply leaving some white reserves. will vary greatly depending on the type of
markers and paper we are using. The safest
route is always to work first on our color
markers over thinly applied pencil lines
and then apply our black lines. On the
other hand, if we have already done our
black lines, we would have to be extremely
careful in applying color around them.

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CoNCEPT SKETCHING:

SKETCHING FRom ImaGINaTIoN
aNd HaVING SomETHING To Say

The key moment for many
designers to overcome is the initial
hesitation—some might call it
fear—of sitting down and starting
to sketch freely. Once we have read
the project brief and we understand
the premises clearly, it all comes
down to picking up your favorite
drawing utensil and substrate,
digital or physical, and jotting down
ideas. Many designers like to draw
on newsprint paper, because it’s
cheap and coarse with a great tooth
to draw loose lines with a No.2
pencil, while some others might
draw loose sketches on napkins.
The techniques vary from person to
person. The important moment in all
of these scenarios is we have to have
something to say. In this example,
I wanted to pursue the idea of using
a CNC machine to carve a complex
table top out of wood and make it
look as if I had laid down a piece of
heavy cloth, bunching up at the
front corners. I started with a loose
sketch on tracing paper (above) and
cleaned the drawing further adding
a second layer on top (on the right).

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Right after I sketched this, I didn’t like
it and I wasn’t going to use my time
adding color, but that led me to the next
step. I thought I could still keep the four
legs and draw the internal structure,
just for the fun of it. I started adding
more lines (on the left) and started liking
the overall design, with the addition of
an angled front and two drawers, one
on the front and another on the back.
The moment of inspiration came then,
when I thought I could design a chess
table with some built-in storage and two
clocks (on the right).

The final two stages came easily, as I had
a clear direction and had something to
say with substance. On the left side of
the drawing, I opened all drawers and
moving parts, just to give me an idea
of how I would have to work with the
internal structure. After I was done,
I realized I had drawn the clocks
sideways and did yet another drawing
(on the right) with the clocks as they
should be and with the board ready
to be used.

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To complete the concept, I added some
color strokes to indicate the tone of
wood (and metal) I wanted to use.

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When starting a large conceptual project A: Skatepark with different obstacles
from scratch, often it helps to first and ramps.
imagine one front view if we are drawing
a product, or an elevation if we have a B: Shaded sandlot area.
large interior or architectural structure.
Some other times, it is easy to start C: Walk boards along the water edge
imagining things from a floor plan. In this and sunbathing boards.
case we are looking at a park proposal
that was presented to a small town in D: Elevated boardwalk around the large
Rhode Island. The lot was a superb tree in the property.
location to let our imagination run wild.
I imagined a small park with meandering E: Open-air theater.
paths that would tend to the needs of
the young families and adolescents in
the area. I envisioned a skateboard area,
a large shaded sand lot, and an open
theater with the water of the bay as a
backdrop. These sketches are done in
ink and colored with color pencils and
some gray marker shading.

A C
B D

E

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Notice how in this sketch I only wanted
to showcase the skating section along
with just one other adjacent area, the
shaded picnic structure. The other
sections of the park were omitted so
that they would not be too distracting
from this view. To add more realism to
the scene, I included the town bridge in
the background and a line of trees on
the horizon.

Here, I depicted three distinct areas:
a large rock that is split in half to play
hide-and-seek; a tiered sand area;
and a smaller sand lot for the smallest
children.

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In this area I envisioned how much park
visitors would enjoy their board walk in
the summer, if they would have an
angled plane from where they could
sunbathe facing south, blocked from
the wind. The tall wooden poles with
the triangular banners mark where the
peers would be located.

I wanted to show how children would
play around the large tree in the
property, taking advantage of the shade
during the hot months in the summer.
The concept envisions a series of ramps
and climbing ropes to delight children
ages four to eleven. To consolidate the
idea further, I added a floor plan of the
elevated boardwalk and how that related
to the shade coming from the tree.

110 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

This view is slightly elevated as we would
be seeing the scene above the stage.
This afforded me the chance to show
the bay as a backdrop.

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In my experience as a designer, I have
had the opportunity to work for a good
variety of clients and fields, ranging
from packaging and point of sale,
exhibit designs, trade shows, and
product design. But nothing beats
sketching from imagination with no
preconceived ideas, and visiting
fabricators. This project involved the
creation of an informational kiosk to
be placed in a flagship store of a
well-known electronics manufacturer
in Chicago. My early pen sketches did
not differ much from the final model,
but I loved crafting these loose sketches,
mixing front views, side views, and quick
perspective views.

112 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

A big moment in the concept sketching
process comes when we get to choose
a direction from a collection of
preliminary ideas, in a big pin-up session.
After fifteen years of teaching, I still get
excited when I see my students share
their progress with the whole class, as
that fosters communication and allows
them to compare skills and share
experiences. This photograph shows
how this process usually gets done:
Every available surface, horizontal or
vertical, is used to display the concepts.

Also, during the sketching phase, I often
sit down with a single student or a group
of students with a roll of tracing paper
and do a live demonstration, focusing
on a particular detail that might need
further clarification. This is an example
of how that would happen; these
sketches show how to shade different
objects that are affected by one or
multiple light sources.

CHAPTER 2 – CONCEPT SKETCHING 113

Teaching concept sketching sometimes Note: Designers often use backgrounds
requires the setup of a longer to emphasize their designs, but in this
demonstration in front of an audience. case I chose to work with a purple color,
This pair of hand drills was completed on which complements the orange tone
newsprint paper in front of my class in I was using for the drills. It made my
twenty minutes to show the importance sketch more interesting visually.
of color and volume when developing
sketches.

114 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

I developed a series of quick
demonstrations to show my students
that they can create their own
gradations that can be cut to fit a
particular shape of a background later.
These can also be scanned and
incorporated digitally, to the sketches.
This one was created using two tones
of pastel shavings—orange and purple.
These brush strokes were obtained
by dousing a cotton ball with nail
polish remover and applying pastel dust
to the paper. Then, with ample strokes,
I blended the two colors to generate
this interesting background texture.

In the spring of 2012, I created
a website to showcase videos of
different rendering techniques,
focusing primarily on quick concept
and sketching skills. This first website,
www.renderinginteriors.com, focuses
exclusively on interior design.
The following sketches show how
to create different textures on
elevations and perspective views:
grass, stone, glass, brick, and wood.

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Based on the success of the website for
interior designers, soon after I opened
its counterpart for industrial designers,
www.idrender.com, focusing on the
same issues of quick concept and
sketching skills. These sketches show
how to get quick chrome reflections on
a tea kettle, how to start a concept for
a pair of binoculars, and how to organize
and label the main parts for a hair dryer,
in an exploded view format.

116 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

CoNCEPT SKETCHING:

STaRTING wITH a bLaNK PaGE aNd woRKING wITH
oVERLayS To REFINE dETaILS aNd dEVELoP a SCENE

Starting with a blank page can sometimes be a daunting experience.
Before developing these sketches for a coffee maker, I did some loose
warm-up sketches and chose these two concepts as my starting point.
I drew this pair of sketches with a blue pen on a regular sheet of paper in
landscape format. I worked with quick strokes to get a sense of volume,
and completed them from left to right. I was not afraid of over-stretching
my blue lines over certain corners, and crisscrossed them at will to make
the lines appear looser. At this stage, I liked the sketch on the right, and I
thought I could add some extra hatching to gain an extra sense of depth.

A: Crisscrossing the lines on the edges
gives the drawing a loose appearance.

B: Hatching our lines allows us to indicate
a shaded area or a change in material.

A

B

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Working with tracing paper over the A: More precision added to the buttons.
first set of sketches allowed me to
narrow down my ideas further, while B: Contour line is redefined.
still being able to see my loose sketches
on the bottom layer. It is reassuring C: Bumps added on the contour line.
to work with overlays of tracing paper,
because that allows designers to develop D: Added nuances in irregular shapes.
concepts slowly and surely and with
a good sense of continuity. In this E: More hatching to emphasize a change
image, we can see how some pencil in material.
lines were drawn to clean up the first
two concepts, but at the same time
both designs kept on evolving, although
at a slower pace.

A A
B B

C D
E

118 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

On the next layer of tracing paper, A: Double lines added to show
I kept evolving the shape, but this time a small radius.
I paid close attention to cleaning up the
curves and making the overall design B: Thin lines to represent a mid-contour
more uniform visually. I added more plane.
definition to the base, the cover for the
carafe, and the surface that contained C: Careful shading on selected areas
the operating buttons. While reworking to show change in shape.
the base of this coffee maker, I became
convinced that I had to revisit the design D: First notes to mark reflective surfaces.
of the handle for the carafe. I was not E: Added lines to show complex shapes.
sold on the idea that I had in the prior
design, as it still appeared too busy, and A
I thought the shape was too arbitrary.
The tracing paper gave me the
confidence that this change would be
done in slow progression, while having
the freedom to explore other
alternatives.

D
C
B

D
E
CHAPTER 2 – CONCEPT SKETCHING 119

Depending on the substrate being used
in the final rendering—mainly vellum or
marker paper—we might run the risk of
smearing the colors if they are applied
over the black lines. Do a test on the
side and if the color smears, add color
first without the black lines. That means
you should use the last black line
underlay as a guideline for color. In the
following example, I added a first pass
of color on the left using two shades of
blue and a gray tone, followed by a few
extra dark blue tones, using the underlay
as my indicator.

120 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

In this last phase, the hard work paid
off when I retraced all the black lines.
On top of redrawing all of these lines,
I added a slightly thicker line on the
perimeter to emphasize the resulting
volume.

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The same principles that we have applied
to work in layers can be used for interior
design or architecture. If we are
developing a concept by hand and we
are not sure of our design options yet,
we can always work in layers until we
get the right concept. The image on
the left shows my first sketch to
remodel a house in a New England
town. The house was small to start with,
but since it faced the water, I thought
it could benefit from the addition of
a wraparound porch and two dormers
in the front, for the upstairs bedrooms.
In my first sketch, I also added a
chimney, which didn’t exist in the
original design. The first image shows
my second take on the same house.
I drew this image in Photoshop but
used the same principle of working
with layers. The original design had
some good things, but I changed
the roofing material from metal to
architectural shingles and made the
chimney taller. I also changed the
location of the entrance steps and
the landscape around the house.
Finally, I made the dormers slightly
higher, eliminated the octagonal
window, and continued working with
some other landscape ideas.

122 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

To complete this rendering, I added
some color with a reduced palette: three
shades of green for the landscape and
forest, two shades of brown for the
stained wood shingles, a dark purple/
blue tone for the architectural shingles,
and some light blue tones for the glass
panes in the windows and the sky in the
background.

CHAPTER 2 – CONCEPT SKETCHING 123

NaRRaTIVE SKETCHING:

PLaNNING SEquENTIaL VIEwS To dESCRIbE
aN aCTIVITy oR PRoCESS

Some years ago, I was approached by I was asked to create a high-quality
an inventor/entrepreneur who had rendering that would showcase the
developed an all-in-one tape dispenser/ product in use so that potential buyers
mud applicator for dry walls to simplify would be able to understand how it
the otherwise cumbersome process would be held and operated. In the life
of finishing them. Although the client of a designer, this is often the case; we
had a great product to sell, he did not have to communicate how a product
have a visual that would describe how works or describe an activity or process
easy the process could be. of something that has not been seen
yet. I worked with a soft airbrush in
Photoshop, using the image of the
machine that my client provided, and
enhanced the shadows to better fit in
the scene.

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I had to draw a small pen that attaches A: Slide pen in resting position, on side
to the user’s finger and can be switched of index finger.
on when ready to write. After some
patent searching and discarding some B: Slide pen in resting position. Notice
preliminary ideas, I set out to create as the channel on the ring to facilitate
many variations of shapes as I could movement.
possibly think of, but always making sure
that the shape and the motions would
be understood from both sides of the
hand. These preliminary sketches were
done with pencil lines over tracing paper.

A

B

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One of the initial concepts was chosen A
for further work, and the original pencil B
line was cleaned up. Then the line work C
was scanned and color was applied in
Photoshop. I was careful in balancing D
the use of color in these two views, so
that the focal point would rest on the
pen itself. For that reason, I faded the
color of the hand as it reaches the wrist
and added extra highlights with a white
airbrush tool on the body of the pen,
to bring it forward. This view shows a
final concept in a retracted mode; the
arrow in orange by the thumb suggests
that the orange button on the body of
the pen could slide forward to operate
the pen.

A: Wrinkles in the hand partially erased
to fade them into the background.

B: Extra highlights added to the body
of the pen, done with a small white
airbrush.

C: Shadows added under the hand, using
the lasso tool in Photoshop, with a
feathered edge for a soft look.

D: Color of the hand applied with the
Gradient tool in Photoshop.

This second view shows the same final
concept in an extended mode. In this
rendering, it was important to get the
shadows right, especially reaching
the tip of the pen. I wanted to convey
the idea that the user was about to
lay the pen down on a writing surface.

126 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

This project involved the creation of a
series of sequential views to explain the
process of using a battery-operated saw.
The main innovation of this design was
in the shift of the weight of the battery
pack, from the saw itself to the work
belt. This eliminated fatigue produced
by both the constant lifting of the saw
and its use for a prolonged period of
time with the arms lifted. These sketches
were done using pens of different line
weights and some light gray marker
tones to the object to make the figure
appear more volumetric. The addition
of a blue strip as a background provided
continuity from sequence to sequence.

These drawings, done by Daniel Morgan,
explore what we call an operational
sequence. Sometimes we have to
describe how a complex system works
or how we make a product usable,
but using mainly visuals. In these four
vignettes, the designer describes,
with an economy of resources, how a
new pair of training shoes would work.
An athlete would use these to gradually
learn how to run barefoot. These
vignettes show sequentially how the
shoe is attached securely to the foot,
how we would remove the cushioning
in stages, and finally how we would
not need them any more. It is also
noteworthy how his shapes are carefully
describing the motions with balanced
line weights and a light color tone that
is applied uniformly to all four vignettes.

CHAPTER 2 – NARRATIVE SKETCHING 127

NaRRaTIVE SKETCHING:

PRoduCING SKETCHES To INdICaTE How
SomETHING GoES ToGETHER oR oPERaTES

Often the concepts that we develop are not as simple as they initially
appear. Behind a simple structure we might find moving parts or drawers
or other elements that separate from the main unit. In these circumstances,
it might not be enough to show a parting line to indicate that we have a
collection of parts. Adding arrows can indicate movement or a sense of
direction. Here, I drew a concept of a refrigerator with two doors and have
indicated how the shelves on the door are detachable for easy cleaning.
On the right, I have indicated that the drawers on the freezer unit can
be pulled out.

128 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

In this second drawing, I worked more
on the low-profile filling station in the
refrigerator, suitable for kids and adults.
I thought it would be especially
important to combine an arrow with
a body part, to illustrate clearly how
we would fill-in our water container.
The broken arrow suggests that the lever
for the fill-in station could be pushed
two times, to obtain a soft and hard
stream, or two fill-in speeds. The arrow
in blue with the drop at the end indicates
dripping water could be picked up in the
bucket down below.

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After I was done with the rendering,
I thought it would be helpful to indicate
that the bucket in the lower section
could be removed, so I added a person
holding it, along with an arrow.

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This drawing, done by RISD student This drawing was done on tracing paper,
Stephanie Willemsen, shows how and later it was assembled and colorized
complex a drawing can be when we want in Photoshop but with a carefully
to display the internal components of balanced play of line weights and
a product. When putting together shading. We also appreciate how the
presentations, sometimes designers few color notes were left just for the
want to emphasize not only the internal background, as a tool to help us separate
architecture but how all the parts are our four clusters of parts. And finally,
assembled and, most importantly, how Stephanie added a large arrow shaded in
they are organized into sub-assemblies blue, to connect the button/screen
or clusters. In this seemingly simple assembly with the top housing assembly.
alarm clock, we can appreciate four
distinct clusters. On the top left corner
and with a dark brown background, we
see the transformer assembly, followed
by the button/screen assembly in the
center of the page. On the bottom
center of the page we can see the
battery box/bottom assembly, and
finally on the right, we see the buttons
and the top housing as our last assembly.

CHAPTER 2 – NARRATIVE SKETCHING 131

In this other example, student Benjamin
Snell from Brown University developed
a drawing showing all the parts involved
in the design of a clock. This type of
drawing is called an exploded view
and can be beneficial to communicate
a multitude of assembly and
manufacturing issues with other
designers or engineers. Despite the
inherent complexity of the drawing, it is
still easy to identify all the parts because
of the arrangement of components and
callout numbers, as well as the clever
use of color and soft gray tones to
emphasize volume. This drawing was
first developed using tracing paper, one
cluster of parts per sheet. Later, each
cluster was scanned separately and the
resulting larger drawing was assembled
using Photoshop. Assembling the parts
into a larger drawing works well only if
you follow a strict isometric grid. This
way, all the parts can be repositioned
any number of times, and they will
always be placed correctly, because
we do not have to worry about the
vanishing points.

132 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

NaRRaTIVE SKETCHING:

addING CaLLouTS, aRRowS, aNd SymboLS To ExPEdITE
THE VISuaL uNdERSTaNdING oF CERTaIN aCTIoNS

This car dashboard concept was developed to show how arrows can focus on
one section of our drawing. This is a busy sketch with many buttons and
dials, and it would be hard to focus on the glove compartment if it was not
for the red arrow indicating that it was pulled down. We normally visualize
a drawing from left to right and top to bottom, and following this criterion,
our eyes stop intuitively at the red arrow. This is by default our focal point in
the rendering. I still had room to add two details on the bottom showing how
this compartment could be designed with two other storage nooks for
documents, once it is open.

CHAPTER 2 – NARRATIVE SKETCHING 133

Quite often, the design solutions are
not self-explanatory and need the
support of arrows, symbols, or notations
to help the viewer understand what is
being depicted. This is a concept for a
free Internet hot spot for a convention
center, provided as a way to advertise
a particular Internet provider. While this
initial concept shows three computer
screens and a seating area, we want to
be sure that the concept conveys some
points clearly, about the use of the
space and the materials or finishes
we are using.

Once the first concept is sketched A F H
out, we can start to identify some B G
areas that need to be explained further. C
For example, we have to provide a
description about the materials used in DE
the floor. The added dots address the
pile of the carpet, but we also have to
explain the circles behind the computer
stations, and the very small circles inside
the circular carpet. Once we add
notations, the main areas in the concept
get explained. If we are using freehand
architectural lettering, it would be a
good idea to draw the lines and spacing
for our text with 3H pencil (marked in
red in the drawing). Notice too how I
made an effort to align the different
blocks of text. On the bottom a label
was added to name the drawing and to
situate it in context with the whole
presentation.

A: Notation to explain the lighting fixture, E: Notation to explain the seating area.
its material and finish.
F: Notation to explain that the
B: Notation to explain the lighting storage inside the seating area, for
fixtures attached to the outer ring. maintenance.

C: Notation to explain the area that is G: Notation to explain the upward
given to the sponsor to advertise the spotlights in the floor.
name and how the computer stations
can be used. H: Notation to explain the extra base
added to the computer pedestal for
D: Notation to explain the material and visual impact and stability.
finish of the computer pedestal.

134 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

These sketches, developed by RISD
student Elizabeth Connolley, depict
a selection of enclosure studies for
a packaging concept for ground black
pepper, but keeping in mind the needs
of persons with arthritis. It is important
to note that Elizabeth felt she had to
use many arrows to explain how some
of these tabs would be operated to gain
access to the goods packaged inside,
by peeling, turning, pulling, sliding, or
flipping over a tab. In some cases, these
arrows are shown in conjunction with
the tip of a finger, to facilitate the
understanding of how it would be
operated by this group of users.

CHAPTER 2 – NARRATIVE SKETCHING 135

SHooTING boaRdS:

dEVELoPING a SERIES oF SKETCHES THaT dEPICT a SToRy,
FRamE by FRamE

In certain situations, designs are
better understood when we
associate them with a particular
story, which is normally linked to
a user’s experience. In this case, we
see a concept for a package holding
chocolate-covered chips. This board
by RISD student Hanna Oh, shows
the package design in three stages:
closed, halfway open, and fully open.
It is completed using color markers,
color pencils, and black pens over
marker paper. Everything is looking
good in this board, but the designer
felt that the concept would be
stronger if the viewer could
associate a story beyond what
is initially shown here.

In this second board, Hanna has gone
beyond explaining the function of the
package (how it can be opened), to
describe a more complex story. First,
we see a hand ready to pick one chip,
and that gives us a good sense of scale.
Second, we see two touching wine
glasses in the background. That indicates
that this packaging concept would
be purchased to maybe mark an
anniversary or other important
celebration, and that is what makes
this design so special after all.

136 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

Shooting boards is a term that is
borrowed from the movie industry
to indicate that a drawing or a series
of drawings will represent a particular
scene or point of view, usually in
sequence. This is also called a
storyboard, or in product design
we might see them described as an
operational sequence board.
The important thing to remember
is that they are done quickly with pens
or pencils and one or two gray tones.
They might show the same operation
from different angles, just to make sure
that the story is well described. In this
particular shooting board, we have four
vignettes done in pencil and gray tones
to describe the concept of a magnifying
glass designed exclusively for the elderly
with arthritis.

CHAPTER 2 – SHOOTING BOARDS 137

SHooTING boaRdS:

CREaTING VISuaL INTEREST by uSING a VaRIETy oF
CamERa aNGLES CuT To KEEP THE VIEwER ENGaGEd

When we are sitting down to
sketch an object in perspective,
the drawings need to be engaging,
communicate clearly, and to a
certain extent, they need to have
a certain amount of emotion.
These cut sketches of a belt sander
are showing three different points
of view. This first one represents
the belt sander from the angle that
would be most likely understood,
showing the front and the side.
The board is more predictable
and shows the product as it will
be displayed in a showroom—
what you see is what you get.

This second view shows the belt sander
form the opposite angle. It makes us
appreciate it from the user point of view,
as if we were about to grab the handle
and squeeze the trigger to get it going.

138 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

And this third view shows the belt
sander from a very low vantage point.
This board is the least descriptive of
the three renderings, but it certainly
shows motion and a good deal of drama.
The question then arises, which one of
these three images would we share with
a client? The answer depends on the
purpose that we want to give in our
presentation.

CHAPTER 2 – SHOOTING BOARDS 139

These sketches of an exhibit design
done for a trade show reflect how we
can use different angles to emphasize
different details. My client, a large home
and office printer manufacturer, wanted
to display the latest printers they had
to offer, and I thought of using different
large-scale volumes to emphasize the
bright primary colors used in the printer
cartridges. For example, on the two
sketches on the top right corner,
I wanted the large structure in the
center of the exhibit to be the focal
point, dwarfing everything else. To make
it more evident, I lowered the horizon
line to make the structure appear even
taller on the sketch. The large volume in
the center represented the documents
that we could generate with the help of
these printers. These sketches were
done with a black pen and color pencils,
over newsprint paper.

140 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

CHAPTER 3

dIGITaL bLoCK-ouTS:

woRKING wITH SKETCHuP To dEVELoP aN
objECT oR ENVIRoNmENT

One of the advantages of digital technology is the ability to look at a 3D
model from different points of view, using the pan, orbit, and zoom tools.
If we are in the preliminary stages of ideation, we could quickly build a model
focusing only on the main shapes, just to develop a rudimentary sense of
volume. Our goal would be to avoid building our model with total accuracy,
as that is usually a time-involved process and we want to first explore
different options.
This model of a school park for an
elementary school was built with the
aid of some photographs to build the
model in SketchUp—tracing of existing
photographs can be done under Window
> Match Photo.
In approximately four hours, and with
the aid of some found benches on
SketchUp’s website
(https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/
index.html), I was able to create a model
that was just right for my final goal,
which was to develop quickly a series
of pencil sketches.

CHAPTER 3 – DIGITAL BLOCK–OUTS 141

Working with pencil exclusively, I traced
the main lines done in SketchUp on a
new layer and sketched out a concept
that later was shared with the client.

142 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

DIGITAL BLOCK-OUTS:

BUILDING wHITE mODELS TO fIND THE BEST VIEw
AND USE AS A SKETCH UNDERLAy

This image shows a model of a
dump truck that I was able to build
in under an hour in SketchUp Make,
with the idea that it could help
me in the process of concept
ideation. Once the main model
was built, I saved a set of different
points of view. I clicked on Window-
Scenes and chose the Plus sign to
obtain them.
To see my model in a sketchy
appearance, I chose a style called
Charcoal Loose, under Window > Styles
> Sketchy Edges. The images below
show a collection of some of the scenes
I captured. Notice how the model has a
sense of movement as the cabin is
veering to the right.

CHAPTER 3 – DigiTAl BloCk-ouTs 143

In this second stage, I worked on two
concepts in parallel. The underlying
wire frames done in SketchUp provided
great guidance, as I did not need to
worry about perspective or proportions.
And placing the original layers under
our current page can be done digitally
in Photoshop or by hand, using a light
table. Using underlays is especially
helpful when we are designing for
transportation, as there are wheels and
cabins and other complex shapes that
require especial attention.

Note: Circles, such as those found in
wheels, are drawn in perspective as ellipses,
and those need to be done very well to
make our transportation concept appear
solidly grounded. This can be particularly
challenging if we haven’t loosened up our
hand enough or if the front wheels are
turning. In that scenario, we face two
different types of ellipses, those in a
straight line and those belonging to the
axle that is turning.

In this phase I refined my lines and
worked on cleaning up the concept.
After that was completed, I added a
strong gray value for the wheels, the
shadow, and the areas to be painted
in black.

144 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

In this next step, I worked on the areas
that would receive a bright body paint,
using two different passes of blue.
The first pass would be light and would
affect the hood and sides of the dump
back and darker for the curved sides
that face the ground.

In this last phase I worked with more
blue and gray tones to complete my
rendering, focusing on gaining enough
contrast on the model. As a last touch,
I added some yellow tones for the
headlights and some white touches in
the cabin, the front grill, the hood, and
the tire treads.

CHAPTER 3 – DigiTAl BloCk-ouTs 145

This figure shows a model of a living Once the model was built, I saved four
room that was made in SketchUp. different points of view, high and low,
This software has proven that it can showing them in a style called Sketchy
be a great aid to the designer when Edges. In some of these shots I played
drawing an interior view in perspective. with different angle lenses, which can
be found in SketchUp under Camera >
This model was built in less than an Field of View (the tool gets activated
hour, using simple modeling tools, when we click and drag on the scene,
mainly the rectangle tool, the pencil with the left button of our mouse).
tool, and the extrude tool to create 3D.
The objective here was not to create a
fully detailed interior with all kinds of
furnishings and accessories but rather
to build a collection of blocks with very
little detail, to help us situate the main
volumes in the space. If the chairs are
drawn with a slight rotation, then the
process becomes more challenging,
because we need to find two new
vanishing points.

146 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING

I used one of the perspective views to Note: When building in SketchUp I
get the concept drawn without worrying recommend that you set up a time frame
if my perspective was off (the original for yourself. Whether it is one hour or
SketchUp line work is marked here two, it is a good idea that you define a
in red). The process was a lot simpler time limit to build in 3D when you use this
this way. It was particularly helpful to technique. We can very easily spend one
correctly draw each of the lightly or two days building in 3D, but that can
rotated chairs to the right. Notice how be counter-productive if you only wanted
I did not bother to build the tone wall to use the wire frame as an underlay to
in the background in SketchUp or the help you with the perspective.
wood plans on the floor. It would have
taken too much time to get it right in
the computer and I can add those
textures by hand.

CHAPTER 3 – DigiTAl BloCk-ouTs 147

In this next step I chose three marker
tones to work with: a gray tone to
situate the carpet under the dining room
table and to mark the ceiling, a dark red
tone to mark the wood tones for the
dining room set, and a light blue tone
to indicate sky tones that could be seen
beyond the sliding French doors in the
dining room.

Here, I added more color to the scene:
a light brown to define the wood planks
and more pencil work to darken some
of the shadows under the chairs and
table. I also added some extra black lines
to define my objects and edges placed
in the foreground, and some more detail
to the outdoor deck beyond the sliding
doors, just to make the perspective look
richer visually.

148 PERSPECTIVE SKETCHING